The Youth Activators Lab is a one-year programme for young people between the ages of 18 and 29 who will work with the Network of Youth for Sustainable Initiative (NGYouthSDGs) to advocate for youth rights in Nigeria. The Youth Activators Lab (YAL) is an upgrade of the NGYouthSDGs Champions Programme which began in 2019.
The selected associates (fellows) work with NGYouthSDGs to advocate for meaningful youth engagement in policies and programmes for young people to lead and thrive in Nigeria. The associates with support from NGYouthSDGs’ staff will design innovative campaigns focused on the agency of youth for sustainable development and engaging with policymakers and youth stakeholders for the rights of youth in Nigeria.
Capacity-building training for every associate focused on campaign, policy advocacy, stakeholder management, programme design, communicating with the media and fundraising. The associates get to codesign and implement programmes with NGYouthSDGs in their states with the opportunity to attend events and engage with high-level stakeholders.
Our Developmental Intentions
- Equip associates with practical skills to design and implement innovative campaigns and programs that will cause systemic change in their communities.
- Enable associates to recognize societal challenges and proficiently implement solutions.
- Provide training in technical skills essential for addressing social issues within their communities.
- Identify young people who can imbibe the values of NGYouthSDGs, empower them to represent the organisation and replicate projects/programmes in their respective states.
- Receive support to design innovative campaigns focused on the agency of youth for sustainable development and engaging with policymakers and youth stakeholders for the rights of youth in Nigeria.
Our Approach
Training sessions
The associates will have virtual training 1-hour classes that will go through modules such as systems thinking, understanding your community, fundraising and so on. The classes are scheduled to hold the second week of each month of the program cycle.
Learnings from Global Change Leaders Webinar
This will be a quarterly interactive session that will provide a unique platform for associates to learn directly from global change-makers who have made significant contributions to their respective fields.
Co-design Programmes with NGYouthSDGs
Associates will work with NGYouthSDGs to plan and implement programmes like International Youth Day, World Youth Skills Day, SDGs Week, and projects that arise during the program cycle.
Group work
As part of the training curriculum, associates will get to collectively work on tasks together.
Project Pitch Competition
Based on all the learnings and mindset shifts received, this is a proposed avenue to make the learning actionable for the YAL Associates and for them to take ownership through the planning and implementation of projects that will cause systemic change in their communities. Here, the Associates will pitch their project ideas for a certain amount to fund their projects. Through this, multiple initiatives across multiple communities in Nigeria would address social problems and contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Assessments
The associates will complete assignments from training classes, and research tasks during the programme cycle.
Graduation
At the end of the programme, associates will receive certificates and undergo a graduation ceremony. This would occur in December every year to mark the end of the cohort.
